Laundry refresher unit and laundry treating apparatus having the same

ABSTRACT

A method of and apparatus for updating decoding information are provided. A method of transmitting media data includes generating a media stream including one or more media data items, one or more decoding information of the media stream, and information for arranging updating of the decoding information; and transmitting the media stream, the one or more decoding information item of the media stream, and the information for arranging updating of the decoding information, in which the one or more media data items have decoding information that are different from each other. According to the method and apparatus, the amount of data to be processed and the complexity of data processing can be reduced, thereby reducing an encoding time and a media data processing time in a decoder.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a method of and apparatus for updatingdecoder configuration, and more particularly, to a method of andapparatus for updating decoding information in order to transmit mediadata items having different decoding information, as one media stream,and a method of and apparatus for receiving media data.

BACKGROUND ART

In general, when media data is transmitted, a media stream is generatedin relation to each media data item, and information on the media streamrequired for receiving and processing the media stream is defined, andthen, the media stream and the information on the media stream aretransmitted. Accordingly, while transmitting one media stream, in orderto transmit another media data item having a different mediacharacteristic, the existing media stream is removed, another mediastream is generated for the other media data item, information on theother media stream is defined, and then, the other media stream and theinformation on the other media stream are transmitted.

When a data service using one or more media stream is provided, in orderto transmit a media data item having a decoding information differentfrom that of the media stream, the transmission side should transmit toa reception side a command to remove the media stream being originallytransmitted, then define a new media stream and transmit the new mediastream and information on the new media stream. That is, whenever amedia data item is desired to be changed to a new media data item havinga characteristic different from that of the original media data item,the process of removing the existing media stream, and defining andgenerating the new media stream should be performed. In particular, inan environment where a rich media service, including a variety of media,such as text, images, and moving pictures, is provided, it isinefficient to perform this process whenever a media data item isdesired to be changed and provided.

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION Technical Solution

The present invention provides a method of and apparatus fortransmitting media data for updating decoding information.

The present invention also provides a method of and apparatus forreceiving media data for updating decoding information.

Advantageous Effects

The amount of data to be processed and the complexity of the dataprocessing can be reduced, thereby reducing the time for encoding themedia data.

Also, in a reception side of the media stream, since the amount of thedata transmitted by the media stream transmission side is reduced, thetime for processing and reproducing the media stream can be reduced.

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The above and other aspects of the present invention will become moreapparent by describing in detail exemplary embodiments thereof withreference to the attached drawings in which:

FIGS. 1A through 1C are diagrams illustrating media streams for updatingdecoding information according to an exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a video stream according to anexemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is an apparatus for transmitting media data, and an apparatus forreceiving media data according to an exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a method of transmitting media dataaccording to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a method of receiving media dataaccording to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 6 illustrates scenes explaining a process of reproducing media dataaccording to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

BEST MODE

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided amethod of transmitting media data including: generating a media streamincluding one or more media data items, one or more decoding informationof the media stream, and information for arranging updating of thedecoding information; and transmitting the media stream, the one or moredecoding information of the media stream, and the information forarranging updating of the decoding information, wherein the one or moremedia data items have decoding information that are different from eachother.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is providedan apparatus for transmitting media data including: a media streamgeneration unit which generates one or more media data items as onemedia stream; a decoding information generation unit which generates oneor more decoding information of the media stream and information forarranging updating of the decoding information; and a transmission unitwhich transmits the media stream, the decoding information, and theinformation for arranging updating of the decoding information, whereinthe one or more media data items have decoding information that aredifferent from each other.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda method of receiving media data including: receiving a media streamincluding one or more media data items, one or more decoding informationof the media stream, and information for arranging updating of thedecoding information; decoding the media stream by using the decodinginformation of the media stream; determining whether or not a currentdecoding information is valid, based on the information for arrangingupdating of the decoding information; and, if the current decodinginformation is not valid, receiving a next decoding information anddecoding the media stream by using the next decoding information,wherein the one or more media data items have decoding information thatare different from each other.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is providedan apparatus for receiving media data including: a reception unit whichreceives a media stream including one or more media data items, one ormore decoding information of the media stream, and information forarranging updating of the decoding information; and a decoding unitwhich decodes the media stream by using the decoding information of themedia stream, determines whether or not a current decoding informationis valid, based on the information for arranging updating of thedecoding information, and, if the current decoding information is notvalid, receives a next decoding information item and decodes the mediastream by using the next decoding information, wherein the one or moremedia data items have decoding information that are different from eachother.

Mode for Invention

The present invention will now be described more fully with reference tothe accompanying drawings, in which exemplary embodiments of theinvention are shown.

FIGS. 1A through 1C are diagrams illustrating media streams for updatingdecoding information according to an exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention.

According to related art technology, in order to transmit media dataitems having decoding information that are different from each other, anewly and separately defined media stream should be generated for eachmedia data item. Here, a media stream corresponds to an elementarystream in a Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG) system.

However, in the media stream as illustrated in FIGS. 1A through 1C, onemedia stream is generated for two media data items havingcharacteristics different from each other. In the exemplary embodimentof the present invention, one media stream may be one media stream in aphysical sense. In addition, for example, in a case where identificationnumbers of media streams are identical such that a media data receptionapparatus can recognize and process the media streams as identical mediastreams, those media streams can be regarded as one media stream in alogical sense.

FIGS. 1A through 1C illustrate media streams (A, B, C, D, E, F) havingdecoding information that are different from each other. Each of FIGS.1A through 1C illustrates two media data items included in one mediastream. However, there is no limit to the type and number of media dataitems which have different characteristics, i.e., decoding informationthat are different from each other, which can be included in one mediastream.

The decoding information includes codec information and a variety ofinformation items required for decoding media data, such as resolutioninformation of the media data. The decoding information can betransmitted in a variety of methods according to a transmission system.For example, in the case of an MPEG-4 system, it can be defined in asyntax called DecoderSpecificInfo of an object descriptor (OD), and thentransmitted. According to an exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention, the decoding information can include information forarranging updating of the decoding information. According to anotherexemplary embodiment of the present invention, in addition to decodinginformation, the information for arranging updating of the decodinginformation may exist separately from the decoding information. Forexample, the information for arranging updating of the decodinginformation may be transmitted together or simultaneously with thedecoding information to a media data reception apparatus.

Referring to FIG. 1A, decoding information A, which is the decodinginformation of media data A, includes valid time information indicatinga time when the decoding information A is valid.

For example, the valid time information can be expressed as T1 and T2indicating the start and end, respectively, of the time when thedecoding information A is valid. Accordingly, a media data receptionapparatus receiving the media stream illustrated in FIG. 1A can learnthe time when the decoding information A is applied, by using the validtime information included in the decoding information A about the mediadata A. Accordingly, if it is time T2, the decoding information A is notused in the media data reception apparatus any more, and new decodinginformation B of media data B is received, and the media data B includedin the media stream is decoded. The new decoding information B alsoincludes information T2 and T3 indicating the start and end,respectively, of a time when a decoding information B is valid.

Referring to FIG. 1B, decoding information C of media data C includesavailable duration information indicating an available duration of thedecoding information C. The available duration information can beexpressed as AD1, which is the available duration of the decodinginformation C. Accordingly, in FIG. 1B, the media data receptionapparatus receiving the media stream can learn a time when the decodinginformation C is applied, by using the available duration AD1 includedin the decoding information C in relation to the media data C. Forexample, the media stream is decoded by using the decoding information Cduring a time obtained by adding the available duration AD1 to acomposition time stamp (CTS) of the media data C, and then, new decodinginformation D of media data D is received, thereby decoding the mediadata D included in the media stream. Likewise, available durationinformation AD2 can also be included in the new decoding information D.

Referring to FIG. 1C, decoding information E of media data E includesversion N, which is version information of the decoding information E.Accordingly, the media data reception apparatus receiving the mediastream of FIG. 1C decodes the media stream by using the decodinginformation E whose version is version N. While decoding the mediastream, if decoding information whose version is version N is received,the media data reception apparatus continues decoding and ignores thereception of the decoding information. If the version of a newlyreceived decoding information changes to version N+1 as illustrated inFIG. 1C, the media data reception apparatus decodes the media stream byusing the newly received decoding information. That is, the media data Fis decoded using the version N+1 decoding information.

Also, the information for arranging updating of the decoding informationmay be an update command for commanding the media data receptionapparatus to update the decoding information. In this case, unlike theexemplary embodiments described above with reference to FIGS. 1A through1C, in which the information for arranging updating of the decodinginformation is included in the decoding information, the information forarranging updating of the decoding information may exist separatelyoutside the decoding information, and may be transmitted together withthe decoding information.

For example, it is assumed that a command indicating that information isdecoding information is defined as 0×01, and an update commandindicating that information is update decoding information is defined as0×02. In the media data reception apparatus, while media data is decodedby using the decoding information indicated by the command defined as0×01, if the update command defined as 0×02 is received, the remainingmedia data can be decoded by using the decoding information indicated bythe update command defined as 0×02. Since updating can be performed manytimes, a plurality of update commands indicating that information isupdate decoding information can exist.

As illustrated in FIGS. 1A through 1C, when the decoding informationincludes the information for arranging updating of the decodinginformation, a media data transmission apparatus can be implemented suchthat only a command indicating that information is decoding information,for example, 0×01, can be repeatedly transmitted. In this aspect, themethod of this exemplary embodiment can be distinguished from a methodof commanding updating of decoding information by using a command. Inthis way, information on each update command is shared by the media datatransmission apparatus and the media data reception apparatus, and themedia data transmission apparatus can efficiently transmit media datahaving decoding information items that are different from each other, byusing the updated decoding information. Also, the media data receptionapparatus can efficiently decode media data, by using the updateddecoding information.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a video stream according to anexemplary embodiment of the present invention.

The video stream illustrated in FIG. 2 is a media stream formed of onlyvideo data, and includes video data corresponding to codecs that use anH.264 baseline profile, a main profile, and a high profile standard.According to related art technology, in order to transmit a video streamhaving codes different from each other, each video data item should begenerated as a separate media stream, and then transmitted. However,according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, it is notrequired to separately generate and transmit a video stream of eachprofile. Instead, by transmitting the information for arranging updatingof the decoding information in addition to the decoding information,video data items having decoding information that are different fromeach other can be included in one media stream, and the media stream canbe transmitted.

FIG. 3 is an apparatus for transmitting media data, and an apparatus forreceiving media data according to an exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention.

Referring to FIG. 3, a media data transmission apparatus 310 transmits amedia stream to a media data reception apparatus 330. The media datatransmission apparatus 310 includes a media stream generation unit 312,a decoding information generation unit 314, and a transmission unit 316.

When a media stream is generated, the media stream generation unit 312generates one or more media data items as one media stream. The mediadata items included in the media stream generated in the media streamgeneration unit 312 may have decoding information that are differentfrom each other. This does not mean that the media stream generationunit 312 generates only one media stream.

The decoding information generation unit 314 generates decodinginformation for one or more media data items, and information forarranging updating of the decoding information.

The information for arranging updating of the decoding information maybe valid time information indicating a valid time at which the decodinginformation is valid, as described above with reference to FIG. 1A;available duration information indicating an available duration ofdecoding information, as described above with reference to FIG. 1B;version information indicating a version of decoding information, asdescribed above with reference to FIG. 1C; or an update commandindicating that updating of the decoding information is required.

The transmission unit 316 transmits the media stream, the decodinginformation of the media stream and the information for arrangingupdating of the decoding information. The transmission unit 316 cansequentially transmit decoding information such that the media datareception apparatus 330 can decode media data items having differentdecoding information with proper timing. The transmission unit 316 canbe built with tools for packetizing or multiplexing in order to transmitmedia streams and decoding information to the media data receptionapparatus 330 through a variety of transmission channels.

Meanwhile, the media data reception apparatus 330 receives and processesthe media stream transmitted from the media data transmission apparatus310.

The media data reception apparatus 330 includes a reception unit 332 anda decoding unit 334.

The reception unit 332 receives a media stream including one or moremedia data items and decoding information of the media stream. When themedia stream and the decoding information are packetized or multiplexedfor efficient transmission, the reception unit 332 may be built withtools for depacketizing or demultiplexing.

The decoding unit 334 decodes the media stream by using the decodinginformation of the media stream. The decoding unit 334 interprets theinformation for arranging updating of the decoding information. Thedecoding unit 334 determines whether or not the current decodinginformation is valid, based on the information for arranging updating ofthe decoding information.

When the information for arranging updating of the decoding informationis valid time information indicating a valid time at which the decodinginformation is valid, as described above with reference to FIG. 1A, ifthe valid time is over, the current decoding information is not validany more. When the information for arranging updating of the decodinginformation is available duration information indicating an availableduration of decoding information, as described above with reference toFIG. 1B, if the available duration is over, the current decodinginformation is not valid any more. When the information for arrangingupdating of the decoding information is version information indicating aversion of decoding information, as described above with reference toFIG. 1C, if decoding information of a new version is received, thecurrent decoding information is not valid any more.

Also, when the information for arranging updating of the decodinginformation is an update command indicating updated decodinginformation, if the update command is received, the previous decodinginformation is not valid any more.

If it is determined that the current decoding information is not valid,the decoding unit 334 receives the next decoding information and decodesthe media stream. When the information for arranging updating of thedecoding information is a command to command the media data receptionapparatus to update the decoding information, decoding is performed byusing the decoding information indicated by the update commandcommanding updating of the decoding information.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a method of transmitting media dataaccording to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

In operation S410, a media stream including one or more media data itemsis generated, and one or more decoding information of the media streamand information for arranging updating of the decoding information aregenerated. In this case, the media stream includes one or more mediadata items having decoding information that are different from eachother.

The information for arranging updating of the decoding information maybe valid time information indicating a valid time at which the decodinginformation is valid, available duration information indicating anavailable duration of the decoding information, version informationindicating a version of the decoding information, or an update commandto command the media data reception apparatus to update the decodinginformation.

In operation S420, the media stream, the decoding information and theinformation for arranging updating of the decoding information aretransmitted. The information for arranging updating of the decodinginformation may be included in the decoding information and transmitted,or can be transmitted in the form of a command to indicate updating ofthe decoding information.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a method of receiving media dataaccording to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

In operation S510, a media stream including one or more media data itemshaving decoding information that are different from each other, one ormore decoding information of the media stream, and information forarranging updating of the decoding information are received. Assumingthat the decoding information of the media stream received in operationS510 is first decoding information, the information for arrangingupdating of the decoding information can be included in the firstdecoding information and transmitted. It is assumed that the firstdecoding information includes valid time information indicating a timewhen the decoding information is valid, as the information for arrangingupdating of the decoding information.

In operation S520, the media stream is decoded by using the firstdecoding information.

In operation S530, in order to determine whether or not the currentdecoding information is valid, it is determined whether or not the validtime is over, by using the valid time information of the first decodinginformation which is included in the first decoding information.

In operation S540, if the valid time of the first decoding informationis over, second decoding information is newly received, and the mediastream is decoded by using the newly received second decodinginformation.

In operation S540, if the valid time of the first decoding informationis not over, the media stream is continuously decoded by using the firstdecoding information that is the current decoding information.

FIG. 6 illustrates scenes explaining a process of reproducing media dataaccording to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 6, scenes 610 and 620 of an episode are provided withimage information on objects appearing in the scenes in sub screens 612and 622. It is assumed that, in the scenes 610 and 620, media data isprovided using binary format for scenes (BIFS), which is scenetechnology information in an MPEG-4 system.

In the BIFS format, the structure of each media content item foroutputting a screen is expressed using a scene tree. Each scene tree isformed with nodes. Each node defines media, graphic layouts, interfaces,and so on. The node defined as media is mapped one-to-one to eachelementary stream or media stream. The elementary stream mapped to eachnode cannot be changed until the node is removed from the scene tree.

Accordingly, when an elementary stream A mapped to a node A of a scenetree is provided in the sub screen 612, a media data transmissionapparatus changes the elementary stream A of the node A to an elementarystream B provided as the sub screen 622 of the scene 620, and changesthe scene 610 to the scene 620, thereby providing the changed scene 620.To achieve this, first, the media data transmission apparatus removesthe node A in the scene tree, declares the node B having the sameproperty as that of the node A, and adds the node B to the scene tree.Then, by mapping the node B and the elementary stream B, the mappinginformation is transmitted to a media data reception apparatus.

However, according to this exemplary embodiment, the media datatransmission apparatus can include information for arranging updating ofdecoding information in DecoderSpecificInfo of the element stream A, andtransmit the information. Media data for providing the sub screens 612and 622 is included in an elementary stream ‘1,’ and is transmitted. Thenode A is mapped with the elementary stream ‘1,’ and is reproduced asthe sub screen 612 in the media data reception apparatus. If the validtime transmitted in DecoderSpecificInfo is over, new DecoderSpecificInfoof the elementary stream ‘1’ is received. The new DecoderSpecificInfoincludes new decoding information. By using the new decodinginformation, the media data reception apparatus can decode media datathat is decoded by using the new decoding information included in theelementary stream ‘1,’ thereby reproducing the sub screen 622 asillustrated in FIG. 6.

The exemplary embodiment of the present invention can be applied toservices, such as a slide show, in which images on a screen arecontinuously updated. For example, in the related art technology, whendifferent decoding information should be used in order to reproduce eachimage reproduced in a slide show because of different authors whogenerated the images, a process of removing and adding nodes in a scenetree should be repeatedly performed. However, if the exemplaryembodiment of the present invention is applied, by using a time forarranging updating of decoding information, new decoding information isreceived, the decoding information is updated, and then, the images canbe continuously reproduced.

The present invention can also be embodied as computer readable codes ona computer readable recording medium. The computer readable recordingmedium is any data storage device that can store data which can bethereafter read by a computer system. Examples of the computer readablerecording medium include read-only memory (ROM), random-access memory(RAM), CD-ROMs, magnetic tapes, floppy disks, and optical data storagedevices. The computer readable recording medium can also be distributedover network coupled computer systems so that the computer readable codeis stored and executed in a distributed fashion.

According to exemplary embodiments of the present invention, when afirst media data item which is transmitted in an existing media streamis desired to be changed to a second media data item having decodinginformation different from that of the first media data item, and thesecond media data item is desired to be transmitted, a transmission sideof the media stream transmits information for arranging updating of thedecoding information of media data items, instead of the related artprocess of removing an already defined media stream and defining a newmedia stream for transmission.

In this way, the amount of data to be processed and the complexity ofthe data processing can be reduced, thereby reducing the time forencoding the media data.

Also, in a reception side of the media stream, since the amount of thedata transmitted by the media stream transmission side is reduced, thetime for processing and reproducing the media stream can be reduced.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and describedwith reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it will be understoodby those of ordinary skill in the art that various changes in form anddetails may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scopeof the present invention as defined by the following claims.

The exemplary embodiments should be considered in descriptive sense onlyand not for purposes of limitation. Therefore, the scope of theinvention is defined not by the detailed description of the inventionbut by the appended claims, and all differences within the scope will beconstrued as being included in the present invention.

1. A method of transmitting media data comprising: generating a media stream including one or more media data items, one or more decoding information of the media stream, and information for arranging updating of the decoding information; and transmitting the media stream, the one or more decoding information of the media stream, and the information for arranging updating of the decoding information, wherein the one or more media data items have decoding information that are different from each other.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the information for arranging updating of the decoding information is valid time information indicating a valid time at which the decoding information is valid.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the information for arranging updating of the decoding information is available duration information indicating an available duration of the decoding information.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the information for arranging updating of the decoding information is version information indicating a version of the decoding information.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the information for arranging updating of the decoding information is an update command to command a media data reception apparatus to update the decoding information.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the decoding information includes codec information required for decoding each of the media data items included in the media stream.
 7. An apparatus for transmitting media data comprising: a media stream generation unit which generates one or more media data items as one media stream; a decoding information generation unit which generates one or more decoding information of the media stream and information for arranging updating of the decoding information; and a transmission unit which transmits the media stream, the decoding information, and the information for arranging updating of the decoding information, wherein the one or more media data items have decoding information that are different from each other.
 8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the information for arranging updating of the decoding information is valid time information indicating a valid time at which the decoding information is valid.
 9. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the information for arranging updating of the decoding information is available duration information indicating an available duration of the decoding information.
 10. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the information for arranging updating of the decoding information is version information indicating a version of the decoding information.
 11. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the information for arranging updating of the decoding information is an update command to command a media data reception apparatus to update the decoding information.
 12. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the decoding information includes codec information required for decoding each of the media data items included in the media stream.
 13. A method of receiving media data comprising: receiving a media stream including one or more media data items, one or more decoding information of the media stream, and information for arranging updating of the decoding information; decoding the media stream by using the decoding information of the media stream; determining whether or not a current decoding information is valid, based on the information for arranging updating of the decoding information; and if the current decoding information is not valid, receiving a next decoding information and decoding the media stream by using the next decoding information, wherein the one or more media data items have decoding information that are different from each other.
 14. The method of claim 13, wherein the information for arranging updating of the decoding information is valid time information indicating a valid time at which the decoding information is valid.
 15. The method of claim 13, wherein the information for arranging updating of the decoding information is available duration information indicating an available duration of the decoding information.
 16. The method of claim 13, wherein the information for arranging updating of the decoding information is version information indicating a version of the decoding information.
 17. The method of claim 13, wherein the information for arranging updating of the decoding information is an update command to command a media data reception apparatus to updating the decoding information.
 18. The method of claim 13, wherein the decoding information includes codec information required for decoding each of the media data items included in the media stream.
 19. An apparatus for receiving media data, comprising: a reception unit which receives a media stream including one or more media data items, one or more decoding information of the media stream, and information for arranging updating of the decoding information; and a decoding unit which decodes the media stream by using the decoding information of the media stream, determines whether or not a current decoding information is valid based on the information for arranging updating of the decoding information, and, if the current decoding information is not valid, receives a next decoding information item and decodes the media stream by using the next decoding information, wherein the one or more media data items have decoding information that are different from each other.
 20. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the information for arranging updating of the decoding information is valid time information indicating a valid time at which the decoding information is valid.
 21. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the information for arranging updating of the decoding information is available duration information indicating an available duration of the decoding information.
 22. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the information for arranging updating of the decoding information is version information indicating a version of the decoding information.
 23. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the information for arranging updating of the decoding information is an update command to command a media data reception apparatus to update the decoding information.
 24. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the decoding information includes codec information required for decoding each of the media data items included in the media stream.
 25. A computer readable recording medium storing a computer program for executing a method of transmitting media data, the method comprising: generating a media stream including one or more media data items, one or more decoding information of the media stream, and information for arranging updating of the decoding information; and transmitting the media stream, the one or more decoding information of the media stream, and the information for arranging updating of the decoding information, wherein the one or more media data items have decoding information that are different from each other.
 26. A computer readable recording medium storing a computer program for executing a method of receiving media data, the method comprising: receiving a media stream including one or more media data items, one or more decoding information of the media stream, and information for arranging updating of the decoding information; decoding the media stream by using the decoding information of the media stream; determining whether or not a current decoding information is valid, based on the information for arranging updating of the decoding information; and if the current decoding information is not valid, receiving a next decoding information and decoding the media stream by using the next decoding information, wherein the one or more media data items have decoding information that are different from each other. 